US LUANovember 2010 – News Archive
November 29, 2010
President Obama announces wage freeze
As part of his ongoing efforts to reduce the federal deficit, President Obama today proposed a freeze in pay for civilian federal employees for 2011 and 2012. The press release can be found at:
“This was a decision that was not made lightly. From the doctors and nurses who care for our veterans to the scientists searching for better treatments and cures, the men and women who care for our national parks, and the thousands who make sure that the Social Security check is in the mail and that students get their scholarships, federal workers serve their fellow Americans. They do so often with great sacrifice and motivated by a patriotic love for their country. This freeze is not to punish federal workers or to disrespect the work that they do. It is the first of many actions we will take in the upcoming budget to put our nation on sound fiscal footing – which will ask for some sacrifice from us all.”
Additional information can be found on the OMB (Office of Management and Budget) blog:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/11/29/tightening-our-belts
November 24, 2010
AAAS Policy Alert Excerpt re: budget and other news
Budget News
Last week both Senate and House Republican caucuses agreed to an earmark ban for the 112th Congress. The ban could make it harder for Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to win Republican support for the omnibus appropriations bill being put together, covering all department and agency budgets, especially with the announcement that Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will not support such a bill. The other leading option is a House-crafted long-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government at FY 2010 levels for FY 2011. Sen. Inouye appears optimistic about being able to get the handful of Republican votes needed to pass the omnibus bill, but the odds currently appear about even between that and a year-long CR as the means of finalizing FY 2011 appropriations.
The Senate Republican caucus also passed a resolution to reduce FY 2012 non-security discretionary spending to inflation-adjusted FY 2008 levels. The Obama administration has requested a 5-10% decrease from originally-projected FY 2012 discretionary spending levels, and the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform proposed FY 2010 discretionary spending levels for FY 2012 along with a 1%-per-year decrease through FY 2015. The President’s proposed budget for FY 2012 is due to be presented the first week of February 2011.
To stay informed about congressional action on the FY 2011 budget and the potential impact of proposed deficit reduction plans on federal R&D investment, visit the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program.
Other Congressional News
Chances for Passage of COMPETES Wane. Final passage of the America COMPETES Act, which calls for substantially increased science funding, during the current lame duck session is looking less likely due to two converging factors. First, the bill has yet to be filed in the Senate, a step that is required in order to bring it to the floor. Second, the uncertainty surrounding the final FY 2011 budget numbers, due to growing pressure to reduce the federal deficit and cut discretionary spending, complicates the process. Some observers believe that even if Congress does not complete action on the bill during the lame duck session, chances for its passage in the next Congress appear reasonably good. However, there is considerable uncertainty about when, and with what authorization levels, the bill might be passed.
Budget News
Last week both Senate and House Republican caucuses agreed to an earmark ban for the 112th Congress. The ban could make it harder for Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-HI), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, to win Republican support for the omnibus appropriations bill being put together, covering all department and agency budgets, especially with the announcement that Minority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) will not support such a bill. The other leading option is a House-crafted long-term continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government at FY 2010 levels for FY 2011. Sen. Inouye appears optimistic about being able to get the handful of Republican votes needed to pass the omnibus bill, but the odds currently appear about even between that and a year-long CR as the means of finalizing FY 2011 appropriations.
The Senate Republican caucus also passed a resolution to reduce FY 2012 non-security discretionary spending to inflation-adjusted FY 2008 levels. The Obama administration has requested a 5-10% decrease from originally-projected FY 2012 discretionary spending levels, and the co-chairs of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform proposed FY 2010 discretionary spending levels for FY 2012 along with a 1%-per-year decrease through FY 2015. The President’s proposed budget for FY 2012 is due to be presented the first week of February 2011.
To stay informed about congressional action on the FY 2011 budget and the potential impact of proposed deficit reduction plans on federal R&D investment, visit the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program.
Other Congressional News
Chances for Passage of COMPETES Wane. Final passage of the America COMPETES Act, which calls for substantially increased science funding, during the current lame duck session is looking less likely due to two converging factors. First, the bill has yet to be filed in the Senate, a step that is required in order to bring it to the floor. Second, the uncertainty surrounding the final FY 2011 budget numbers, due to growing pressure to reduce the federal deficit and cut discretionary spending, complicates the process. Some observers believe that even if Congress does not complete action on the bill during the lame duck session, chances for its passage in the next Congress appear reasonably good. However, there is considerable uncertainty about when, and with what authorization levels, the bill might be passed.
November 20, 2010
NUFO News now available
Check out NUFO News.
November 17, 2010
AAAS Policy Alert Excerpt
Budget News
Leadership Support for Proposed Earmark Bans. This week, Republicans in both chambers of Congress will vote on resolutions to ban earmark requests as a sign of fiscal discipline within the Republican Caucus. On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reversed his earlier position and announced his intention to support the resolution championed by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), while in the House, Minority Leader Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) echoed his support for the ban. Given the growing support among leaders in both chambers, the resolutions — which are not legally binding — have a good chance of passing. Additionally, in a weekend address, President Obama signaled his support for banning congressional earmarks. According to Taxpayers for Common Sense, there were 9,499 congressional earmarks in FY 2010 totaling $15.9 billion, 1.2 percent of the total discretionary budget and 0.4 percent of total government spending.
Fiscal Commission Releases Preliminary Proposal. On November 10, the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, created by President Obama, released a proposal to reduce the deficit below the goal of 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by 2015 set by the President. The proposal includes a number of spending cuts to both discretionary and mandatory programs totaling $250 billion in potential savings along with 3 options for major tax reform. The Commission’s suggested discretionary cuts include a number of R&D-related programs; for example, reducing the Department of Defense’s Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) program budget by 10 percent ($7 billion in FY 2015), canceling the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership, cutting fossil fuel research, eliminating private sector funding for spaceflight, and reducing Smithsonian and National Park Service funding.
Visit the AAAS R&D Budget and Policy Program Website, for the status of the FY 2011 R&D appropriations.
Other Congressional News
Congress Returns for Lame Duck Session. The 111th Congress returns this week for a lame duck session and a range of legislative priorities to address before the end of the year, including a defense authorization bill, the new START Treaty, and extension of tax cuts that are due to expire in December. Both chambers will also vote this week on the key Republican and Democrat leadership positions for the 112th Congress. Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) is expected to be elected Speaker of the House and Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is expected to retain his position as Senate Majority Leader.
House S&T Committee Leadership for Next Year. Last week, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) formally announced her interest in serving as ranking member of the House Science and Technology Committee. In her press release she stated that she “would continue to advocate for STEM education, clean energy, and for scientific research to improve the lives of all Americans.”
AAAS Webinar on Midterm Election. Several members of the AAAS Policy Alert team participated in a webinar on the outcomes of the 2010 midterm elections and what they mean for science. The webinar is archived on the AAAS MemberCentral web site (AAAS member login required).
November 11, 2010LHC-PHYSICS MAILING LIST
Consider joining the new mailing list lhc-physics@cern.ch which will provide access to the world-wide community of physicists interested in LHC physics. The goal of this mailing list is to provide access to the world-wide community of physicists interested in LHC physics. Announcements of conferences, workshops and other events of relevance to LHC physics can be distributed using this mailing list, saving many of us the pain of properly advertising such events, and allowing everyone to be promptly informed. In particular, I shall use this mailing list to announce the activities and initiatives of the LHC Physics Centre at CERN (http://cern.ch/lpcc), typically with a weekly submission.
The rules for the use of this mailing list are very simple: if you have an announcement of relevant LHC activities of global interest you can send it to
lhc-physics-admin@cern.ch
After screening, the announcement will be forwarded to the full mailing list.
Those of you who prefer not to receive these mails, can unsubscribe by replying to this mail and requesting it.
There are over 2500 people on the list now. To subscribe, it is sufficient to go to
https://simba3.web.cern.ch/simba3/SelfSubscription.aspx
and request to join the lhc-physics@cern.ch mailing list.
November 10, 2010
AAAS Policy Alert – Midterm Congressional Elections
http://www.aaas.org/spp/policyalert/
November 8, 2010
AIP FYI #112: Letter to House Appropriators on FY 2011 Office of Science Funding
November 5, 2010
Money for Science May Be Scarce With New Congress – New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/04/business/04research.html?_r=1
November 2, 2010
Lederman Fellowship Applications due Dec. 20
http://www.fnal.gov/pub/forphysicists/fellowships/leon_lederman/ad.html
November 1, 2010
Development of Dynamic Network System (DYNES) applications being accepted soon.
http://www.internet2.edu/dynes
November 1, 2010
NUFO attends the USA Science & Engineering Festival
The National User Facility Organization participated in the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington DC on October 23 and 24. The NUFO representatives conducted hands-on demonstrations with the general public to stimulate their interest in science. An estimated 5,000 children, parents, high school students, and teachers participated in activities at the NUFO booth. The goal of this event was to make science fun for young people and expose them to the discoveries that are made at the User Facilities. From the perspective of the volunteers who participated, it was a huge success.
The National User Facility Organization participated in the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival in Washington DC on October 23 and 24. The NUFO representatives conducted hands-on demonstrations with the general public to stimulate their interest in science. An estimated 5,000 children, parents, high school students, and teachers participated in activities at the NUFO booth. The goal of this event was to make science fun for young people and expose them to the discoveries that are made at the User Facilities. From the perspective of the volunteers who participated, it was a huge success.
November 1, 2010
USLUO annual meeting 29-30 October a Success